Wall Street ends volatile week lower as trade tensions and legal rulings rock markets

Wall Street’s rollercoaster week is winding down with another downturn Thursday, chipping away at Wednesday’s historic recovery.

(NBC)- Wall Street’s rollercoaster week is winding down with another downturn Thursday, chipping away at Wednesday’s historic recovery. The slide comes as investors grow increasingly uneasy about the escalating trade war between the United States and China. President Trump, alongside his cabinet, acknowledged what he called “short-term pain” as a result of the trade dispute. “There’ll always be transition difficulty,” he said, while maintaining that negotiations with other trade partners—some of whom recently received a 90-day reprieve from tariffs—are progressing. He also hinted that a similar deal with China could be possible. “I think that we’ll end up working out something that’s very good for both countries,” the president added.

Despite those assurances, the White House confirmed Thursday that total tariffs on Chinese imports have reached 145%, factoring in previous penalties, including those related to fentanyl. In response, China has imposed retaliatory tariffs of 84% on American goods. The deepening rift is already having an impact on businesses and consumers. Small businesses like a hobby shop in Utah are bracing for higher costs and delayed shipments.

“I’m a little nervous that I’m not going to get some of the product I ordered, or I’m going to have to pay more for stuff,” said collector David Barnett. The economic uncertainty has led major institutions like JPMorgan Chase to maintain warnings that the U.S. could slip into a recession if volatility continues.

Meanwhile, in a separate but high-stakes development, the Supreme Court issued a significant ruling against the Trump administration, ordering it to “facilitate” the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to a prison in El Salvador. Though the justices stopped short of upholding a lower court’s full demand that the U.S. retrieve Garcia, they emphasized the administration’s obligation to correct the illegal deportation—while also noting the executive branch’s authority in foreign policy matters.